The BBC newsreader will take a break from his duties on BBC News at Six and GMT on BBC World News while he undergoes treatment

The 58-year-old newsreader - who has been the sole presenter of BBC News at Six since 2007 and also presents GMT on BBC World News - will take a break from work while he undergoes treatment for the disease, a BBC statement has confirmed.

According to the Corporation, Alagiah is "grateful for all the good wishes he has received thus far and is optimistic for a positive outcome.

"George asks that he and his family are given the space and privacy they require while he recovers. Our thoughts are with him and his family and we send them our very best wishes during this time.

"Until such time as George is well enough to return to work, the BBC News at Six and GMT on BBC World News will be presented as usual by familiar faces from BBC News."

Alagiah first joined the BBC in 1989 after seven years working on South Magazine. Before going behind the studio desk, he was one of the BBC's leading foreign correspondents, reporting from Rwanda, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone. He fronted BBC Four News from its launch in 2002 and joined BBC News at Six in 2003, co-hosting with Sophie Raworth and then Natasha Kaplinsky until her departure in 2007.